USS Agwidale

	Photographed by her builder, the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia, probably upon completion of construction in 1918.
History
United States
Name	USS Agwidale (SP-4464)
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA
Launched	1917
Commissioned	16 November 1918
Decommissioned	11 April 1919
Fate	Sold to China in 1946 and renamed Wei Ming. Fate unknown.
General characteristics
Displacement	10,410 t
Length	385 ft (117 m)
Beam	53 ft (16 m)
Draft	24 ft (7.3 m)
Depth of hold	30 ft (9.1 m)
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h)
Crew	76
Armament	none

Last updated December 16, 2022

While still under construction, the single-screw steel-hulled freighter SP-4464 was acquired by the Navy from the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va. near the end of the first World War and assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation service (NOTS). Commissioned at Newport News on 16 November 1918.

Agwidale shifted to the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Piers at Norfolk on the 24th, and there took on board a cargo of motor tractors. On 4 December 1918 it sailed for the Virginia capes, and at 1300 that day sighted a disabled seaplane off her port bow.

Agwidale altered course accordingly, and reached the downed Curtiss HS-2L flying boat soon thereafter, maneuvering to take the plane in tow. She apparently then headed back toward Hampton Roads, with the plane—still occupied by its three-man crew— traveling in tow astern. Eventually, at 1512 the subchaser USS SC-195 came alongside and relieved the freighter of the towing chores to take the plane back to Hampton Roads.

Two days later, having returned to an anchorage off the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Agwidale set out for France, and reached La Pallice, en route to Rochefort, on 19 December. After discharging cargo at Rochefort, Agwidale, in ballast, set out for the United States on 29 January 1919. Mooring at Hoboken, NJ on the afternoon of 15 February, the cargoman cleared New York Harbor 10 days later, bound for the Netherlands on its second and last voyage under the NOTS aegis.

Agwidale reached Rotterdam via the British Isles on the afternoon of 12 March. She discharged her cargo over the ensuing days, and, on the morning of the 21st, let go all lines and got underway to return to the United States. She returned home without incident and tied up alongside Pier 15, Hoboken, shortly after noon on 4 April. Three days later, she received orders to prepare for decommissioning.

At noon on 11 April 1919, Agwidale was decommissioned and turned over to representatives of the United States Shipping Board, a civilian crew replacing a token Navy one the following afternoon. Agwidale retained her name for the rest of her days under American registry, which extended through the depression years and World War II. Initially operated by the Clyde Steamship Co., she later worked under the flag of the Clyde Mallory Line, and, still later, Agwilines Incorporated, until she was sold to Chinese interests in 1946 and renamed Wei Ming. Her subsequent fate is a mystery.

Related Research Articles

USS Lynx (AK-100) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. Lynx was the third US Navy vessel to bear the name, but unlike previous ships this one was named after the constellation Lynx. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.

USS Aries (AK-51) (1918–1952) was a United States Navy cargo ship built as Lake Geneva under a United States Shipping Board (USSB) contract in 1918 at Duluth, Minnesota, by the McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company, to augment American logistics capability during World War I. The freighter was delivered to the Navy at Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on 21 September 1918 and was placed in commission the following day for service in the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. Aries was named for the constellation.

USS Venango (AKA-82) was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946. She was sold into commercial service and was scrapped in 1971.

USS Alcona (AK-157) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

American Legion was built for the United States Shipping Board (USSB), one of the planned World War I troop transports converted before construction into passenger and cargo vessels, the Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1029 ships. The ship was laid down as Koda and perhaps assigned the name Badger State at one point, but renamed American Legion before launch and one of only a few of the design not taking a state nickname. Originally operated by the USSB's agents and the Munson Steamship Line the ship saw commercial service until laid up 13 March 1939.

USS Zaca (ID-3792) was a steel-hulled, single-screw freighter that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919. She was the first ship to serve by that name.

USS Bali was a large Dutch freighter seized in New York City by the U.S. Customs Service during World War I. She was assigned to the U.S. Navy and later the U.S. Army as a cargo ship to be used to carry military cargo to Allied forces in France. After a number of transatlantic voyages, she was returned to the Dutch government at war's end. She subsequently remained busy transporting cargo until World War II, when she was wrecked by Luftwaffe bombers in the Mediterranean. Her remains were reclaimed and disposed of by scrapping in 1951.

USS West Carnifax (ID-3812) was a cargo ship in the United States Navy shortly after World War I. After she was decommissioned from the Navy, the ship was known as SS West Carnifax, SS Exford, and SS Pan Royal in civilian service under American registry.

USS West Coast (ID-3315) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I. The ship was laid down as SS War Dagger but launched in July 1918 as SS West Coast and reverted to that name at the end of her Navy service.

Wassaic was a steam cargo ship built in 1918-1919 by Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of San Pedro for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine.

USS Alaskan (ID-4542) was a United States Navy cargo ship and troop transport in commission from 1918 to 1919.

USS Arizonan (ID-4542A), also written ID-4542-A was a United States Navy cargo ship and troop transport in commission from 1918 to 1919.

USS Virginian (ID-3920) was a United States Navy troop transport in commission in 1919.

USS Aniwa (ID-3146) was a steel-hulled, single-screw freighter that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.

USS Munplace (ID-2346) was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.

SS West Hosokie was a steel–hulled cargo ship built in 1918 as part of the World War I emergency wartime shipbuilding program organized by the United States Shipping Board.

SS West Mahomet was a steel–hulled cargo ship which saw service as an auxiliary with the U.S. Navy in 1918-19.

USS West Haven (ID-2159) was a steel–hulled freighter that saw service with the U.S. Navy during World War I, and which later saw convoy service during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.

USS Arcadia (ID-1605) was a transatlantic liner that was launched in Ireland in 1896 and spent most of her career with Hamburg America Line (HAPAG). She was one of a series of at least five HAPAG sister ships that were built in the United Kingdom in 1896 and 1897.

The first USS Yellowstone (ID-2657) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.
NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Agwidale (SP 4464)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.